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Vampire
Vampires, also known as Kindred, Cainite, Lick, or Leach, are undead supernatural beings that feeds on the blood of others to sustain themselves. Vitae and Blood A Vampire are undead creatures, brough back to life by the cursed vitae of its Sire. The Vampire needs to feed every so often on the blood from other creatures, in order to turn this blood into the vitae which reanimates the body and powers its supernatural abilities. The blood of animals do suffice, but their blood is much less potent and thus rewards fewer points of blood despite their actualy volume of blood being greater than a human's. Also, it tastes quite bad. System: A vampire can consume 3 points of blood per round. A victim (kindred or mortal) who are bit by the vampire experience the ecstasy of the Kiss, a state of helplessness which require a Willpower roll (diff 8 Kindred, diff 9 Mortals) to resist. If done subtly, the effect of the Kiss often makes mortals bitten rationalize away the feeding as something else, and those who experience the Kiss from repeated feedings often develop a lust for the bliss it induces. The amount of blood drained can leave the victim either lightheaded (1 Blood); woozy and needing support to stand (2 Blood); feeling exhausted, unable to stand, and with a risk for medical complications (3 Blood); or with a risk for their life unless immedietly hostitalized (>3 Blood). The blood drained can then be spent in a limited amount per turn, dictated by their generation. Blood can be spent to: Reanimating Every Evening Every vampire must expend one blood point each night when she awakens, whether she actually goes out or not. Heal Wounds A vampire may spend one blood point to heal one normal (bashing or lethal) health level of damage. Characters must be resting and relatively inactive for this healing to take place, though this recovery is rapid. Vampires may heal as many health levels per turn as they can spend blood points. Note that blood expenditure is the only way that vampires can heal wounds. Just as their immortality prevents the Kindred from aging and dying naturally, so it also inhibits the recuperative processes natural to a living body. Increase Physical Stats A player may spend one blood point to increase a single Physical Attribute (Strength, Dexterity, Stamina) by one dot for the duration of the scene. The player must announce at the beginning of the turn that he is doing this. A player may spend as many blood points on increasing Physical Attributes as the vampire may use in a turn (based upon Generation), but may only freely increase these Traits up to one higher than their generational maximum (which is normally 5, so to a maximum of 6). With effort, a character may increase a Physical Attribute to above this limit, but each dot above the limit lasts for only three turns after the character stops spending blood. This enables vampires to perform truly amazing physical feats, such as throwing cars, moving preternaturally quickly, and withstanding blows that would fell trees. Perform the Blush of Life Though most vampires (with the exception of Nosferatu) appear much as they did in life, they still display certain corpselike features; for example, their skin is unnaturally cold and grows more ashen with age, and they do not breathe. By spending a variable number of blood points, a vampire may will himself to appear more human for a scene: flushing his skin, drawing breath, even becoming capable of engaging in sexual intercourse (this last, while helpful in certain types of feeding, in no way means that the vampire may inseminate a mortal or become pregnant; a corpse is still a corpse, after all). Performing these actions for a scene requires an expenditure of blood points equal to (8 minus Humanity); thus, Kindred with Humanity ratings of 8 or higher may accomplish these feats automatically, while vampires with low Humanity find the process exceedingly arduous. Use Disciplines Blood may be spent to fuel certain Disciplines that are inherent to vampires. A vampire can learn any discipline, but some are part of the blood of their clan and can be learnt more naturally. Ghoul and Blood-Bond A vampire may give a number of blood points to another Kindred, thereby enabling the recipient to use the blood as if it were her own. This is often a grisly prospect, as the “donor” must open his own vein and physically deliver the blood to the needy Kindred. Of course, if a vampire is ever in a situation in which she needs blood, she’s likely all out of it herself, and may frenzy and take too much from the donor. Blood gifts should be given with care. If a vampire (or mortal) partakes of another Kindred’s blood three times, she becomes bound to that vampire through the mystical properties of vitae. This is known as the blood bond. A vampire may gift a mortal or animal with a dose of his vitae, allowing the mortal in question to inject or ingest it. For so long as they retains the Kindred vitae in her system, she is considered a ghoul. Kindred Society Clans Vampires organize themselves into Clans based on shared bloodlines from Childer to Sire. The way Clans function varies. Some are closely knit, almost fraternal organizations with distinct agendas and focused hierarchies. Others are little more than a predilection toward certain Disciplines and an exploitable flaw in the blood. Ultimately, what Clan means to each vampire is unique, and some Kindred may be very proud of their Clan while others don’t give it much thought. Sects Sect — a vampire’s political and philosophical affiliation — is ostensibly a matter of choice. If a Cainite dwells in a Sabbat city, however, she’s almost certainly a Sabbat member whether she wants to be or not, and a vampire in a Camarilla-held city had better have an exquisite explanation if he chooses not to honor the word of the Prince. Each Sect has a dogma and an objective its members seek to attain. Being broadly distributed organizations populated by creatures as selfish as vampires makes a Sect’s nature in each city a unique thing. Some Sectdominated cities might be paragons of their organization’s virtues, while other pay only lip service to Sect creeds. It is common to denote four big contenders when discussing Kindred Sects: *The Camarilla *The Anarchs *The Sabbat *The Independents The Social Hierarchy Generation There are three general concepts when estimating how to relate to another vampire. Generation represents the purity and density of your blood, and your proximity to the First Vampire. System: A low Generation rating can only be achieved by having a sire of low generation or a decidedly dangerous taste for diablerie. Generation affects the maximum rating in stats, how much blood you can spend per turn, and if another Vampire can use Dominate on you. Generation is also informally used in establishing the social hierarchy between vampires, while simultaniously being seen as quite rude to inquire about. Age The length of your time as a vampire is the second way that Kindred determine the social pecking order and generally trumps Generation. Newly- Embraced Cainites must prove themselves to older, more established vampires in order to gain any sort of recognition or standing. There is a small degree of mobility, but a vampire primarily gains respect through the passage of time and the attrition of his enemies. Fledgeling: A fledgling is a newly-Embraced vampire who has not yet been introduced to Kindred society and formally emancipated from her sire. To this end, a sire is responsible for the actions of his childe until he deems her able enough to handle Cainite culture on her own. Some Clans shelter their fledglings for years or decades, while others figure that once you’re a vampire, you’re on your own — tough shit if you can’t hack it. Neonate: A neonate is a young vampire, one who has not been Kindred very long. The main difference between a neonate and a fledgling is that the neonate has been emancipated from her sire and otherwise is seen as an “adult” in vampire society. The line between fledgling and neonate is incredibly subjective, but usually once Kindred society stops thinking of a vampire as her sire’s appendage and more on her own merits and actions, then she’s become a neonate. Ancilla: Those Kindred who have a few decades or centuries under their belts generally fall into the loose, subjective category known as the ancillae. They have paid their dues, understand (mostly) how Kindred society works, and have probably accomplished something. Ancilla is the rank between neonate and elder, implying some degree of achievement in what local Kindred society deems appropriate. Of course, what counts as “achievement” can vary wildly from Sect to Sect. Elder: What constitutes an “elder” is similarly subjective, but it generally corresponds to a rough age distinction of anywhere from 200 to 1000 years of being Kindred, with appreciable claims to domain and a variety of other assets to bring to bear in their secret wars. Older?: If there are vampires older than Elders then surely they have retreated from the world, been hunted down, or went into torpor. Others whisper that while mighty Elders pull the strings of their childers and their childers' childers in their secret machinations and plans stretching several hundreds of years, there are even older vampires which in turn puppeteer the Elders. Even more conspiratorical people might say that these ancient ones will one day bringing about the Apocalypse by rising from their deep slumber, hungry and only able to sate themselves on their blood of their descendants. These doomsayers are often ridiculed and alientated, but seldom completely silenced. Titles The Sects employes different titles to denote that a member holds a certain position, power, and responcibility. The Camarilla are especially infamous in having an plethora of different positions and titles. The Traditions Vampires observe a set of customs that exists somewhere between being coded into their undead natures and a social contract that’s ratified every night among the courts of the Damned. Not every vampire affords the idea of the Traditions the respect they deserve — the Sabbat in particular make bold claims about the flaws of the Traditions and the weak wills of those who hide behind them — but in practice, most vampires observe the Traditions to some extent. Interpreting and enforcing the Traditions is the privilege and responsibility of the Kindred Prince. The First Tradition: The Masquerade Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing such shall renounce thy claims of Blood. This is the most important Tradition, for its observance protects the race of Caine from discovery by a mortal world that would unite against them in fear and hatred. Many Princes and other Kindred authorities spend a great deal of time using their influence or wealth to cover up breaches of the Masquerade, for the greater good of the Damned who may not even understand the peril in which they place themselves when they breach it. The Camarilla tends to err on the side of the pragmatic, cultivating its power from the shadows, but the Sabbat longs for a time when the Masquerade is no longer necessary, when mortals are little more than blood-thralls born into the shackles of their vampiric masters. The Second Tradition: The Domain Thy domain is thine own concern. All others owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word while in thy domain. Of all the Traditions, Princes often employ the widest range of interpretations when it comes to the Second Tradition. Some Princes maintain that the Second Tradition applies only to those of their station, that a given city is entirely a Prince’s domain and that everyone in it owes him fealty and perhaps tribute. Other Princes are much more liberal, granting each (acknowledged) Kindred in her domain the power of sovereignty over their own territory. Most Princes fall somewhere in the middle, acknowledging that each Kindred makes his own fortune and has a right to authority in areas accepted as his, but not complete autonomy. The Third Tradition: The Progeny Thou shall only Sire another with the permission of thine Elder. If thou createst another without thine Elder’s leave, both thou and thy Progeny shall be slain. Many if not most Princes require that prospective sires seek their permission before performing the Embrace to create fledglings. However, some domains interpret “thine elder” to signify either the elder of one’s own Clan, or even one’s own sire. Note that such liberal domains are often the ones with the greatest Kindred populations, and often ones that come closest to jeopardizing the Masquerade due to Kindred overpopulation. The Fourth Tradition: The Accounting Those thou create are thine own children. Until thy Progeny shall be Released, thou shall command them in all things. Their sins are thine to endure. This Tradition imposes a twofold rule. First, a sire effectively owns her progeny until such a time as she deems them fit to face Kindred society on their own. Second, a wayward childe brings trouble upon his sire’s head, for the sire is responsible for the actions and consequences of her childe until the point at which she is emancipated. This Tradition is simultaneously at the center of some Kindred’s policy of making their childer earn their freedom through a long and arduous process, and other Kindred’s policy of, “Fuck it; you’re a vampire now. Don’t ruin it for the rest of us or I’ll tear your heart out myself. Good luck.” The Fifth Tradition: Hospitality Honor one another’s domain. When thou comest to a foreign city, thou shall present thyself to the one who ruleth there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing. A Prince has the right to dictate who may stay in his domain and who must leave or suffer punishment. This Tradition also imposes the responsibility on a traveling or relocating Kindred to present herself to the local Kindred authority and make herself known and accountable for any missteps. Again, this Tradition’s enforcement falls to the whim of individual Princes. Some are iron-fisted dictators who demand to know the comings and goings of all the Kindred in their cities, while others don’t mind so much as everyone heeds the other Traditions and doesn’t disturb the social order. The Sixth Tradition: Destruction The Sixth Tradition: Destruction Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind. The right of destruction belongeth only to thine Elder. Only the Eldest among thee shall call the Blood Hunt. The Blood Hunt — the Lextalionis — is the Princely decree that declares another vampire persona non grata. The right of Princes (or “elders,” depending upon the interpretation of the Tradition) to call the Blood Hunt effectively forfeits the hunted Kindred’s unlife; it is the ultimate punishment levied for the most grievous of crimes. Indeed, it is used so sparing and so severely in most domains that many Princes will even pardon those Kindred who perform diablerie on a vampire under the Lextalionis. The Beast and Humanity At the point of reawakening, the Vampire finds itself sharing its mind with that of a monster representing their undead nature, and all their new instintual, primal vampyric needs. Simply called The Beast, it lurks in the back reaches of the Vampires mind and threatens to take control whenever they experience intense Fear, Anger, or Hunger. As an undead creature, acting like a human no longer comes natural to the Vampire. While fresh neonates might still seem and act very human, they do so more out of having the memories of recently being human and knowing what that was like. However, as the Vampire ages, these memories and habits start to slowly die off as they fall further from humanity. Breathing, blinking, and other unconcious bodily functions simply stops, and the creatures needs to make an active effort to mimic human behaviour. Loss of humanity also equals greater influence from the Beast, and the Vampire will start to seem more and more like a predator to mortals. System: '''A vampire can temporarily loose themselves to the will of the Beast in what is called collectively called a Frenzy. This is often caused by some kind of provocation, such as danger (Fear Frenzy), violence/rage (Anger Frenzy), or blood (Feeding Frenzy), and the strength of this provocation dictates the difficulty of the roll to resist it (typically 3-9). The player either rolls Self-Control (Anger & Feeding Frenzy) or Courage (Fear Frenzy), with only a single success needed to resist right then and there. If the vampire still remains around the source of the provocation, however, then they will need to continue to roll to try and resist frenzy until collectively 5 successes have been reached and they have successfully bested their Beast. Even a single failed roll means the Beast have taken control, and will act on the provocation as the Storyteller deems appropriate and until they've calmed down. The player can, during a Frenzy, spend a Temporary Willpower in order to gain a single round of control. If that manages to gain them sufficient enough distance from the provocation, then the Storyteller might allow for a new roll to try and regain control. Humanity can be raised with experience points, but only at the Storyteller feels the player has made a concious effort to improve their character's humanity in roleplaying. Humanity can be lost through violating the rules of a humanity rating lower than the character currently possesses. When this happends during a session, the player must make a conscience roll and gain at least one success. If they manage this then, mechanics-wise, the character feels remorseful about their heinous act and does not wish to repeat it. If they fail then, mechanics-wise, the character has come to terms with that what they did was correct thing to do and their humanity drop. The player may roleplay this event however they wish, such as expressing remorse even if humanity was lost. Your humanity rating has several effects on your character: Sleeping during Daytime Vampires sleep unnaturally deeply and are loath to rise even if presented with danger. Vampires with higher Humanity rise earlier in the evening than vampires with lower Humanity ratings. Also, if a Kindred is forced to act during the day, the maximum dice pool he may employ for any action is equal to his Humanity rating. Rolling a Virtue Humanity also affects a character’s Virtues. Whenever a certain Virtue is called into question, a player may not roll more dice for a Virtue than her character has dots in Humanity. Obviously, as the character sinks ever more deeply into the arms of damnation, questions of morality and self-preservation mean less and less. As Humanity depletes, the character creeps slowly toward the night when she loses all self-control. Eerie Presence Humanity determines how human a character appears and how easily she may pass among the populace. Vampires with low Humanity acquire unnatural and disturbing features like sunken eyes, perpetual snarls, and bestial countenances. Entering Wassail and becoming a Wight If a character’s Humanity rating ever drops to zero, that persona has entered Wassail is no longer suitable for use as a player’s character. Completely controlled by his Beast, the character has become a mindless Wight and falls under the Storyteller’s control. Torpor Torpor is the deathlike sleep common to the undead, particularly among ancient vampires. Torpor may be entered voluntarily (certain undead, weary of the current age, enter torpor in hopes of reawakening in a more hospitable time) or involuntarily (through wounds or loss of blood). When a vampire enters torpor due to blood loss she will remain there until someone feeds her at least a blood point. If this happens, she may rise, regardless of Humanity or Path rating. This sort of revivification works only for vampires who enter torpor from blood loss. Vampires who enter torpor due to wounds must rest for a period related directly to his Humanity rating. Following this period of rest, the player may spend a blood point and make an Awakening roll for her character to rise (Humanity, diff 8). If the vampire has no blood in her body, she may not rise until she is fed; if the player fails the Awakening roll, she may spend another blood point and make an Awakening roll the following night. If the vampire rises successfully, she is considered Crippled and should either spend blood or hunt immediately. '''Length of Torpor 10: One day 9: Three days 8: One week 7: Two weeks 6: One month 5: One year 4: One decade 3: Five decades 2: One century 1: Five centuries 0: Millennium+ A vampire may be roused and awoken earlier than the full length of their torpor demands through being fed potent vampiric vitae. This vitae must be from vampires who are considered Ancilla or older.